James Gurney

This daily weblog by Dinotopia creator James Gurney is for illustrators, plein-air painters, sketchers, comic artists, animators, art students, and writers. You'll find practical studio tips, insights into the making of the Dinotopia books, and first-hand reports from art schools and museums.

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Imaginative Realism

Dinotopia: The World Beneath

"A ravishing, action-packed adventure." —Smithsonian. Now with 32 extra behind-the-scenes pages. Signed by the author/illustrator

Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara

160 pages, fully illustrated in color. Written and illustrated by James Gurney. Signed by the author

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All images and text are copyright 2015 James Gurney and/or their respective owners. Dinotopia is a registered trademark of James Gurney. For use of text or images in traditional print media or for any commercial licensing rights, please email me for permission.

However, you can quote images or text without asking permission on your educational or non-commercial blog, website, or Facebook page as long as you give me credit and provide a link back. Students and teachers can also quote images or text for their non-commercial school activity. It's also OK to do an artistic copy of my paintings as a study exercise without asking permission.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

The French word “repoussoir” refers to an object placed in the foreground of a composition that enhances the illusion of distance with other objects. The word conveys the sense of “pushing,” as if the foreground object helps to push back the far spaces.

In this painting by the Hudson River School painter Jasper Cropsey, the trees at the margins of the composition act as a framing device to send back the mountains and the setting sun.

Frederick Lord Leighton painted this processional scene, which has a strong sense of motion from the right to the left.

The figure leaning on the wall at the far right gives the feeling of an actor standing at the proscenium of a stage. He pushes back the plane of the other figures and anchors the right side of the composition.

According to Odile Chilton, visiting professor of French at Bard College, “repoussoir” also conveys the sense of “strong or vigorous color or tone to make the clear and luminous parts of a painting more visible.”

This painting of the Grand Canyon by Thomas Moran uses strong tonal contrasts in the foreground rocky ledge, which helps launch the viewer into the colorful spaces in the distance.